Explanation:
They say Orion
always comes up sideways, and he does seem
to on this cold December night.
The bright stars of the familiar northern winter constellation
lie just above the snowy tree tops surrounding a cozy cottage near
the town of Ustupky in the Czech Republic.
But Gemini's meteors also seem to rain on the wintry landscape.
The meteor streaks are captured in exposures made
near last Friday's peak of the annual
Geminid meteor shower.
They stream away from the shower's radiant above the
trees, near the two bright stars of the zodiacal
constellation of the Twins.
Comet Wirtanen, a visitor to planet Earth's skies, is visible too.
Look for its telltale
greenish coma near
the stars of the
seven sisters.